New Mainstream SSD from Sandisk: WD Blue SN5100 with PCIe 4.0

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WD Blue SN5100

With the WD Blue SN5100, Sandisk is expanding its SSD offerings in the PCIe 4.0 segment. The series offers up to 4 TB of storage, solid transfer rates, and is primarily aimed at the mainstream.

Although faster PCIe 5.0 SSDs have been coming on the market for a long time (for example to the current SN8100), the more attractive models are found in the older PCIe 4.0 standard. With the WD Blue SN5100, Sandisk is launching a similar PCIe 4.0 SSD, which, according to the manufacturer, is particularly suitable for creative work environments and AI-supported workflows. The basis is the BiCS8 QLC NAND with CBA technology, combined with the Sandisk Polaris 3 controller. The manufacturer promises an up to 30 percent increase in performance compared to the predecessor WD Blue SN5000: sequential read rates of up to 7,100 MB / s are achieved for the 5100 representatives with 1 and 2 TByte capacity, while writing up to 6,700 MB / s are in the data sheet.

The WD Blue SN5100 comes in the usual M.2-2280 format and is available in four expansion levels: 500 GB, 1 TB, 2 TB and 4 TB. The warranty is five years in all cases, limited by the respective write load; the warranty limit (TBW), on the other hand, The latter is expected to be sent from October; Interested parties can be notified via the manufacturer's shop.

New Sandisk SSD WD Blue SN5100 with PCIe 4.0 Specs

Manufacturer information	500 GB	1 TB	2 TB	4 TB
Model number	WDS500G5B0E-00CPE0	WDS100T5B0E-00CPE0	WDS200T5B0E-00CPE0	WDS400T5B0E-00CPE0
interface	PCIe 4.0 ×4	PCIe 4.0 ×4	PCIe 4.0 ×4	PCIe 4.0 ×4
NAND	Sandisk BiCS8 QLC 3D CBA NAND	Sandisk BiCS8 QLC 3D CBA NAND	Sandisk BiCS8 QLC 3D CBA NAND	Sandisk BiCS8 QLC 3D CBA NAND
Controller	Sandisk Polaris 3/​A101-000103-A1, 4 channels	Sandisk Polaris 3/​A101-000103-A1, 4 channels	Sandisk Polaris 3/​A101-000103-A1, 4 channels	Sandisk Polaris 3/​A101-000103-A1, 4 channels
Form factor	M.2 2280-S3-M	M.2 2280-S3-M	M.2 2280-S3-M	M.2 2280-S3-M
DRAM	No DRAM cache/only Host Memory Buffer (HMB)	No DRAM cache/only Host Memory Buffer (HMB)	No DRAM cache/only Host Memory Buffer (HMB)	No DRAM cache/only Host Memory Buffer (HMB)
SLC write cache	Sandisk nCache 4.0	Sandisk nCache 4.0	Sandisk nCache 4.0	Sandisk nCache 4.0
Seq. Read (MB/s)	6,600	7,100	7,100	6,900
Seq. Write (MB/s)	5,600	6,700	6,700	6,700
Random Read (IOPS)	660K	1,000K	1,000K	900K
Random Write (IOPS)	1,100K	1,300K	1,300K	1,100K
Power consumption when reading	3.8 W	3.9 W	4.1 W	4.3 W
In Idle	4 mW	4 mW	4 mW	4.5 mW
Prices at market launch	Approx. 45 euros	Approx. 75 euros	Approx. 130 euros	Approx. 260 euros
guarantee	5 years	5 years	5 years	5 years
Guarantee limit (TBW)	300 TB (5 years, equivalent to approximately 600 TB per TB capacity)	600 TB (5 years, corresponds to approximately 600 TB per TB capacity)	900 TB (5 years, equivalent to approximately 450 TB per TB capacity)	1,200 TB (5 years, equivalent to approximately 300 TB per TB capacity

New Sandisk SSD WD Blue SN5100 with PCIe 4.0 Price

According to the price, the WD Blus SN5100 uses Host Memory Buffer (HMB) instead of its own DRAM cache, but still uses the in-house NCache technology in version 4.0 to cushion write loads. For random accesses, the IOPS range from 660,000 (for the 500 GB model) to 1.3 million (1 and 2 TBytes), depending on the capacity. The power consumption is given as around 4 W in reading mode and 4 milliwatts in idle mode (with the version with 4 TByte at least more). With the WD Blue SN5100, Sandisk is positioning itself in the mainstream segment without reaching the price range of high-end SSDs. With regard to pure gaming computers, the added value of PCIe 5.0 SSDs compared to older models is very manageable, especially in terms of loading times. varies depending on the capacity, starting at 300 TByte for the smallest up to 1,200 TByte for the 4 TByte model. At the market launch, the Prices are around 45 euros for 500 GB, around 75 euros for 1 TByte, 130 euros for 2 TByte and 260 euros for 4 TByte.  In the professional field, on the other hand, with regular handling of large, many data, the situation looks different.

Should we include the Sandisk WD Blue SN5100 in our test? Use the comments section and share your opinion.